My Little Baby
by KibaKibbles
Summary: The story of the relationship between Annabeth and Frederic Chase, father and daughter. It starts with the part in Mark of Athena where she's being attacked, and spans to Lightning Thief and her adventures with Percy.
1. My Little Baby

**My Little Baby**

"She's alright," Lynn, his wife, said before embracing him from behind. She pressed her lips on his neck briefly before pulling away, "Just another bad dream."

"That's good," Frederic Chase answered. He glanced back at the many papers which cluttered his desk and sighed. Once again he'd gotten home too late to even kiss his daughter goodnight. And now she was having more nightmares, his long quest for tenure was once again turning out to be a bad decision.

"Are you sure she can't stay with her mother for a while?" Lynn asked, pulling her nightgown over her head.

Frederic frowned, "No," he didn't discuss Athena with Lynn. He was afraid of many things if he brought up the goddess with his wife.

"I wish you'd tell me about her," Lynn pursed her lips before sighing, "I'm just wondering what kind of mother leaves her child. I couldn't even imagine doing that with Bobby and Matthew."

"That's enough," Frederic snapped, she didn't know anything to make that claim - even if in his gut he felt it was true. If Athena were in Annabeth's life things would be simpler. He ran a hand through his curly sandy blond hair and crunched over his desk, everything seemed so out of control. He'd married Lynn partially because she would give him some of that control that he'd lost ever since meeting Athena back. But Annabeth was still not doing well, he was still not doing well.

He felt her hand on his back rubbing soothingly in circles. His wife was just trying to help, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have raised my voice," Fred said. He turned around and pulled her down to his lap and kissed her. He would get this job and make things work. Annabeth would be alright and she'd get used to her new family.

* * *

At breakfast he sipped his coffee while reading over documents about the battle of Tannenburg. Lynn rushed around him, feeding the twins, and nagging Annabeth to eat her eggs.

"Eat up baby bird, you're going to need your energy for school," he eyed his daughter over noticing the bags under her grey eyes and how she kept yawning.

"Daddy, I don't want to go to school," she said quietly. Her grey eyes looked up at him pained, and he wondered just how bad were the nightmares, or maybe it was something else.

"Is someone bothering you at school? If they are tell me, and I'll deal with them."

Annabeth shook her head and was about to speak when Lynn interrupted, "She'll be fine Freddy, just focus on your work. You've been working all year for this day, remember." Lynn patted Annabeth's wavy blonde hair and smiled at him.

Fred nodded, he had to make sure his presentation was stellar. His focus returned to the battles of the past, ignoring the unknown battle right in his face.

* * *

At work his presentation went great. The students seemed impressed and looked like they'd actually learned something. The head of the history department who had been assigned to assess his teaching gave him a pat on the back and congratulated him on getting the tenure he was after. He was grinning wide as he came home with sweets to celebrate, months of long nights away from home and his family were now over.

He was happy, he could spend more time with Lynn and the boys, and he could take Annabeth to DC so she could see all the buildings - just him and her. He knew she'd love that.

When he walked inside their large home he saw a group of police inside, surrounding Lynn who was crying. Lynn's mother Eun Jung was holding one of the twins in her arms.

"What's going on?" he asked worriedly. He looked around trying to find the grey eyes of his daughter but couldn't find them. His heart felt like it was going to explode and dread filled him, "Where's Annabeth?"

Gone.

* * *

Finding a 7-year old child didn't seem like it would've been hard. But his daughter was anything but ordinary. That thought made him even more depressed, Athena had warned him that monsters would always be after her to threaten her life. She was just a child but completely alone somewhere. He felt tears slide down his face as he sat on his bed feeling utterly useless while holding the terrible sloppy scribbles his daughter wrote him telling him she was going away.

Lynn walked in the room and sat next to him putting an arm around his shoulder, "They'll find her Fred."

Fred shook his head and kept crying. "I felt something was wrong, but..." he couldn't finish his sentence before the sobs wracked his body. Lynn gripped him closer.

"It's not your fault Frederic," Lynn soothed, "Her imagination was wild, those outlandish stories she told didn't exude she was going to run away."

"What stories?" he asked.

Lynn sighed, "It was ridiculous, shbe imagined a swarm of spiders were attacking her during the night. She pretended like they had some kind of vendetta after her, she even went so far as to cover herself with cobwebs."

As Lynn spoke Frederic's frown deppened, "Why didnt you tell me?" he asked angrily.

"They're just stories Freddy, I didnt want to indulge her whining."

Frederick Chase angrily pulled himself away from his clueless wife. "They were not just stories!" he cried before storming off.

* * *

He clicked the phone off and set it down on the night table. He'd been staying in a hotel room near his home the past few days. He wasn't really mad at Lynn, how could she have known that spiders were actually attacking his daughter every night. Anger and sorrow filled him, anger for himself. He'd ignored his family and now was paying the cost.

A bright flash filled the room and he looked up to find Athena standing before him. She wore beige khaki pants and a violet battened up top. Her dark black hair flowed around her shoulders, and her beautiful grey eyes held his gaze.

"Athena," he started, suddenly unsure what to say. How did he reveal to the mother of their child that their daughter was missing.

"I'm watching over Annabeth," she said calmly. She didn't look happy as she said it.

"You are?" Frederic smiled for the first time in weeks, "Where is she? I have so much to tell her."

Athena moved to sit in the sofa across from his bed. She studied him intensely, and Frederick had a sinking feeling he was going to lose his daughter. "You're not giving her back, are you?"

Athena shook her head, "She decides if she wants to go back to you, she is on her way to Camp Half-Blood for now."

"She's 7!" he exclaimed, "She comes back to me, I'm her father." She raised an eyebrow, "Not a very good father, but at least I'm there for her," he felt slightly guilty about that stinging remark, slightly...

"Annabeth isn't stupid, even if she is a child. She will be safe once she gets to camp. There she will have family, and tutolage to become a great hero."

But Fred didn't want any of that, he wanted his little girl with him. "She has a family with me, Lynn, and her brothers."

"Does she? You're rarely around, and Lynn treats her like a stranger," Athena frowned, "I'm not arguing with you Frederick. She goes back to you when she chooses to. Ahena sighed and stood up. She suddenly looked very tired, despite the situation he couldn't hide a grin.

"This is the first time I've seen you look, human," he said quietly.

His first true love smirked, "I try to hide it." Frederick wanted to kiss her and hold her, everything he'd been denied in his friendzoned relationship with the woman, but before he could stand or ask her to stay she teleported away in a mist of pixels.

* * *

Her first letter arrived in the mail a month after she'd ran away. Lynn had handed him the letter adressed in sloppy print, with a return address to Camp Half Blood. Rushing to his room he read it alone:

_Dear Daddy,_

_I miss you a lot. I'm sorry for leaving, but it should be better now. I met mom, she sent me friends. Luke is very cool, he is great with a sword. He saved me and gave me a knife. Thalia was my friend too, but she was turned into a tree by her father. _

_I have lots of brothers and even sisters! They're all older than me, but they're nice and they don't leave me behind. Sheila even helped me climb the rock wall, it has a pit that lands in lava if you fall (I didn't fall). _

_I'll get my brother, Jamie, to help me write again. (Hi Annabeth's dad! - this is Jamie) _

_Love, _

_Your Baby Bird_

He didn't realize he'd started crying until he noticed the small droplets on the ink, staining it. He smiled when he realized she was happy and safe, though he hoped to the gods she was kidding about the lava wall, and wasn't she too young to have a knife.

* * *

Years passed, Matthew and Bobby started walking and soon muttered their first words. Frederick uprooted the family and moved to San Francisco, working as a history professor at Stanford University. Every week he'd look forward to her letters, she was bigger now. He had been sent a picture in the last one. The baby fat on her cheeks was starting to fade, she was leaner, and her face exuded confidence.

_Dear Daddy,_

_How is the new home? Are you near the ocean? Are there fruit trees everywhere? Is it always sunny? Does everyone say "dude" and "narly?" I have so many questions, but Jamie is telling me I should just visit you if I want to know the answers. But, I can't right now. I know you said I wasn't a problem for the family, but I know I was. _

_I'm getting stronger, and when I do see you again I'll be able to protect us. I promise._

_Love,_

_Your Baby Bird_

But he didn't want her to protect them, that was supposed to be his duty as a father. So at night when Lynn and the boys were asleep he'd go into the basement, experimenting with weapon designs. He would always make sure she was safe.

* * *

"Dad!" she leaped into his arms, wrapping her skinny arms around his neck. Frederic kissed her cheek and held his daughter in his arms. She was 10-years old now. He hadn't held her in 3 years, that was much too long for his tastes. But at least he'd managed to convince her to visit for Christmas break.

"Hello Annabeth," Lynn said from behind them. Bobby and Matthew hid behind their mother's legs looking curiously at their sister.

Annabeth pulled away, and Fred had to keep himself from not letting her. He settled on keeping his arm around her shoulder, even that made him want to cry. She was so tall now.

"Bobby, Matt, this is your sister Annabeth," he explained, moving Annabeth closer to her younger brothers, "You probably don't remember her do you?"

The boys shyly shook their heads. "Why don't you both give your sister a hug, she's been gone for a long time." They shyly stepped from behind their mother's legs and slowly approached Annabeth, Fred laughed at them each hugging one of her legs and Annabeth awkwardly patting their backs.

Once they were at home Fred gave Annabeth a tour of their home, revealing her room last. He'd spent a lot of time fixing up her room, making it special just for her. Lynn had wanted the empty room to become her office, but he wouldn't negotiate, Annabeth would always have a room to return home to.

"Wow, this is... amazing dad," Annabeth smiled as she took in the room. He'd gone for a Parthenon theme, the corners of the wall had built in stone pillars to mimic the real deal. The furniture was designed after ancient Greek furniture. And books of architecture were stacked on her bookshelf.

Fred smiled, he just hoped she would decide to stay.

* * *

Life has a way of knocking people down, it started with a fight. He'd been at work when a monster attacked. Sure enough Annabeth was stronger and was able to defeat it on her own, but she couldn't prevent the sun parlor from being destroyed. Lynn, having been shocked at seeing her first monster although she'd been briefed on the whole Annabeth is part demi-god thing, released her anger on Annabeth.

"Maybe she shouldn't stay Fred," Lynn said that night after the kids had been tucked into bed, "I thought we could make it work, but she told me that she'd seen worse monsters. If there are worse monsters that can take out more than a room, I don't want to meet them. It's not safe for the boys, they're defenseless."

Fred sat on his side of their bed with his arms crossed. Angry at himself for being unable to protect her once again in their home, and now he was losing support from his wife. "This was a fluke," he explained, "I've been working on things, and she's brought back some weapons with her. I've got a plan to make my-"

"Frederic," she interrupted, "If she stays our lives will be a constant battle. I don't want that. Not now at least."

* * *

Annabeth left earlier than planned, making an excuse about needing to get back to tutoring the other demigods. More monsters had attacked, they didn't cause any damage this time. But Matthew and Bobby had picked up on the tension Lynn was carrying around and the household lost it's warmth. Annabeth drifted further away.

* * *

_Dear Dad, _

_I'm sorry about the monsters attacking when I visited. If I'd been stronger it wouldn't have destroyed the sun parlor. Tell Lynn I'm sorry._

_Your Baby Bird_

Fred scowled at the letter. He was the one who should've been apologizing. He sat in his office reading it over and over before setting to work. Annabeth had told him about celestial gold and the weapons of the gods. He'd be able to implement his designs and create working weapons on monsters. He'd never let his daughter down again.

* * *

_Dear Dad,_

_I went on my first quest! It's a really long story, it started with this awful boy named Percy Jackson..._

_... And in the end Luke betrayed Percy and nearly killed him. I'm still shocked at his betrayal, but at least Seaweed Brain survived. _

_Love,_  
_Your Baby Bird_

Fred was amazed at her long summary of her quest. She'd finally been given a chance, and although his heart pounded whenever she mentioned the times she'd almost got hurt, he was very proud of her. Athena was right when she'd said Annabeth would be a great hero, she was cunning, smart, and sweet girl. He was proud to be her father.

And as her father, he'd have to look out for that boy Percy Jackson. He suspected with all the name calling and teasing that there was more going on between the two of them, even if his daughter hadn't realized it yet.

Frederic Chase read her story again and again, and that night he read it to Lynn and the boys as their bedtime story. Matthew and Bobby listened amazed at their own hero sister, becoming more excited to see her again in the coming months. They all were.

* * *

**AN: I'm not sure If I'll end it here, or expand it all the way until Mark of Athena. Tell me in reviews please if you want more.**


	2. Stay My Little Baby

**EDIT: UPDATE - 3/27/2013. I'm sorry this story is on hold until early May (when I finish school). Thanks for all the reviews I love reading them and I always feel bad when I can't update. But I promise this story will be complete. **

**Stay My Little Baby **

He heard Annabeth, Bobby and Matthew's laughter echoing from the living room as they played a game of Twister. Much to Frederic's surprise Annabeth decided to give living with him permanently another chance. He suspected she'd done so after speaking with her new friend Percy Jackson, Fred had been worried about Annabeth and boys happening already. His instinctive father feelings made him want to sit that Percy Jackson boy done for a talk about the rules with dating his daughter, but Annabeth was quite insistent and embarrassed when he'd suggested they had anything more than friendship.

_"He's just a friend, and barely that. Sometimes I can't stand that Seaweed Brain," _she'd told him a while ago - though a little too defensively.

Besides, Percy Jackson couldn't be so bad. He'd somehow got Annabeth back home, and Fred would do his best to keep her there.

* * *

"Wow dad look! The campus is so beautiful, I love how they designed everything - although I would have put that building over there instead - but it's wonderful," She smiled brightly at the scenery, "I wish I could go here."

"As bright as you are, Stanford will be begging for you. I can see it now, the head of the Architecture Department frantically recruiting a young Annabeth Chase into the school, begging on their knees for brightest architect of the generation to attend."

Annabeth placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow before laughing.

* * *

"Annabeth pick up your things," Lynn instructed to Annabeth who was sitting on the couch watching television. "And what did I say about leaving your weapons laying around. Put it in your room now, it's dangerous to have them around your brothers."

Fred froze in his seat, pausing as he was grading his student's papers. He knew Annabeth was not used to their parental authority and they'd already had a few tense moments since her arrival. But Annabeth kept a cool head, getting up from the couch and picking up her gear before heading to her room.

He exchanged a smile with Lynn who seemed surprised and pleased at what just happened. "This can work," she stated before continuing into the kitchen.

* * *

As a way to keep Annabeth safe from monsters him, Lynn and Annabeth had came up with a plan.

Fred would drive Annabeth to 7th grade, and then drop Matthew and Bobby off at Kindergarten. Annabeth would stay on the school premise at all times, unless she was threatened. Then after school Lynn would pick her up as soon as class was over and drive her home. Once at home Annabeth was not to go outside unless permitted by Lynn or himself. Then at night Fred would take her outside to continue her combat training. It wasn't how he'd preferred raising his child, and would've liked to give her more freedom, but it was keeping her safe.

It worked perfectly until it fell apart after Lynn instructed Annabeth to walk home after school by herself one afternoon, and monsters attacked in droves as if they had been waiting. Fred was called home from the middle of a lecture to come home to a bruised and bloody child.

"I'm sorry baby bird," he said again that night when she'd fallen asleep in her bed, kissing her forehead.

* * *

Lynn had taken Bobby and Matthew to her mother's house for the weekend. Annabeth didn't feel comfortable visiting, so it was just him and his daughter the whole weekend.

He'd thought it would be hard with just the two of them. But conversation flowed naturally, he talked about historic battles while she listened intently. And she'd tell him about architecture, while he smiled at her enthusiasm.

On Sunday night, a few hours before the boys and Lynn were set to return they decided to wait for them by watching one of his old favorite black and white movies starring his favorite actors. As expected Annabeth kind of tuned out, but she didn't seem to want to leave, being comfortably snuggled on the couch beside him.

He smiled at the sudden thought of the first time he held her in his arms all those years ago when Athena had her delivered to his doorstep. She'd been so tiny and he'd been so scared. He still was, he was just better at hiding it.

* * *

"It wasn't my fault," Annabeth explained, her eyebrows were furrowed, "I didn't set the fire."

"The other students saw you Ms. Chase," the school principal explained. Frederic sat beside Lynn opposite the Principal's desk. They'd been called to the school during the day due to Annabeth committing arson.

"By all respect Mrs. Glover, this is very unlike Annabeth. I'm having a hard time believing she did this," Fred tried to reason.

Annabeth turned her steely gaze to him, "That's because I didn't," she said. She gave him a look that meant there was more to the story that couldn't be revealed in front of Mrs. Glover, aka a monster attacked.

"I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Chase, but I was considering a 20 day suspension, but if she is going to blatantly lie and not admit to her crime when I have 17 students who will testify that they saw her light the fire, I'm going to have to request she be expelled."

Lynn shifted beside him and cleared her throat, "Annabeth, I think Mrs. Glover is right. I think it'd be best if you just admitted what you did and apologize. It wouldn't look good on your record if you were expelled." Fred knew she was just trying to do what was best for Annabeth in the long run, but from the shocked and upset look Annabeth was giving his wife, he knew Annabeth would not see it that way.

"I didn't do _anything _wrong," Annabeth said stubbornly.

And thus, Annabeth was expelled. And their lives became 100 times harder.

* * *

"I told her not to leave the house Frederic and she outright disobeyed me!" Lynn exclaimed angrily. "And you're saying we shouldn't punish her?" Lynn looked angrily at him for a response.

Annabeth, from the other side of the room, also was waiting for a response. Waiting to see which side her father was on. And frankly, Fred was ready to call it a night.

"Lynn, calm down," he started saying, "She's sorry. I don't think it was that big of a deal. She didn't go very far. And she's home all day now by herself. I'd be surprised if I didn't see some rule breaking."

Lynn's eyebrows furrowed further and began yelling again, "Frederic, all these rules were put in place because of you. I followed everything you said, and took time out of my day that you know I could be putting to better use to keep her safe. And she repays me by endangering herself, and now you're saying it's not that big of a deal? After all we've been through!"

Fred saw a look of hurt briefly cross Annabeth's face before returning defensively expressionless. He was losing her again. "Lynn, calm down."

"Stop telling me to calm down Fred!"

"Lynn stop! You're going to scare Annabeth," he couldn't control his own outburst. Annabeth apparently had enough, leaving the room.

* * *

The next morning Lynn handed him a letter from Annabeth, explaining why she'd left. It was the same reasons she'd left before.

* * *

**AN: Well there was the year (was it a year? or almost a year?) that Annabeth spent with her family after Lightning Thief. I think next chapter will be the final one, going up to Mark of Athena. And featuring an appearance from everyone's favorite goddess (lol) Athena!.**

**Also, I actually wrote a Fred/Athena get together story, which was my take on them meeting and their relationship. It's apart of my story, "How We Met" which is a series of oneshots about how the gods and parents of the demigods we know met. So check it out if you haven't. **


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